Moop in Vegas...again

Nice update. Golden Nugget is a goldmine if you get the right type of table 😀

Isn't it in Idaho? I can't imagine having a reason to go to Idaho.

Idaho sure, but Boise is a great city. $5 for a beer and a shot at a dive bar is refreshing after a week in Vegas too.

PART 3

Woke up to the sight of a bunch of people playing pickleball outside my window. Not gonna lie, I was tempted to go join. Playing sport on top of an old casino sounds fun, maybe next time.

Had already decided to go play the morning special at Sam's Town though, an hour lane hire & shoes for $18 is great value. Always loved this property (big Killers fan). Got in about 6 games before my arm & shoulder got tired, high score of 173 is whatever. Bowled one turkey, first in a while.

Sam's Town is always beautiful. Love the atrium.

Saw on late notice that the Golden Knights were in town, so hit up a local friend to see if he'd like to go. Luckily for me a presumably quite wealthy client of his gifted us lower bowl seats for the game against Edmonton! I'm a Kraken guy but I was keen to see the VGK experience in person as it looks insane on TV.

Game was incredible. Was a tight 1-0 win to the VGK from a first period strike, but a very exciting game none the less. McDavid is something special, he owned the third period but just couldn't get a break through.

Also got my head eaten by a mascot, that's a first.

I'd parked at TI in order to get a strip walk in for the night, so I headed back but was so full of energy after the game that I thought I'd go play at Venetian and or Wynn and knock them off the list.

Got sat in a 2/3 600 max which didn't seem great but there were no other seats available so figured I'd play it out. $11 PLO double board bomb pots on the dealer change were fun but killed the table quickly when people just stacked the couple of recs for $1kish every time.

Realised an hour in though that one of my favourite wrestlers as a kid was in the game next to me. He was really cool and we chatted about Australia in the late 90s for a good hour or so. Lost probably $80 in the game but it was worth it for the chat.

Great day overall, decided I'd fire an Orleans Winter Open $200 lolament in the morning. Sorry for the incorrect teaser last time, NOW next time I play a tourney!

Sounds like a fantastic day! Now I want to go to Sam's Town. Good luck in the tourney.

I always liked Sam's Town as a visitor, never stayed there, though. Grateful Dead shows in the early 90's, I might have played poker there, once, also, in the 2000's. I remember trying to find dirt-cheap craps there about 10 years ago, failed. That was probably the last time I was there.

Nice pics, thanks for the memories!

Also enjoying the pics and the TR!

I stayed at Sam's Town occasionally back in the '90s when I was playing blackjack. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I seem to recall that when the poker boom hit they established a makeshift poker room with a few tables set up on the casino floor.

Definitely still had the poker room in 2017, disappointed I never made the trip out to add it to the list when I had like 10 days in town. Would love it if it got up again but unlikely since Stations runs it at Boulder already. Gotta get some 4/8 limit Omaha high in next trip too!

DAY 4

Woke up around 8, went for a walk around Fremont to see the Berlin Wall at Main Street and got in the car to go play the 11am $200 at Orleans.

Might just be as an Australian, but seeing a full on vending machine of cigarettes with packaging, branding etc was a bit weird. This would probably just be sodas or snacks back home.

First few levels were pretty standard, was youngest at the table by nearly 20 years. Bet folded JT on 7839K hhxxh after donking turn into a fish, is what it is.

Got pretty much a full double shortly after flatting a 600 -> 3000 3b off 16k with AKo vs an old bloke, Axxxx and he check called 3 streets for almost my whole stack.

Bled down, wondered why I bother with tournaments, then got someone to 3b call 1.5 start stacks with AJs vs my KK and held.

Mid game was pretty boring, a younger guy was running the table over and just couldn't get any spots to play back at him because even at 2nd in chips on the table I was 25-30bb deep. Sad times.

Finally got him defending a minraise with Q5hh in the big blind and flopping a flush. Bet 1bb, 4bb, all in 16bb on a brick runout and got called by T8hh. Skill game!

Unfortunately this was the peak, where I was chipleader with 11 left. Ran incredibly ****ing dead from there on (which probably was only really 20-25 hands so I shouldn't complain too much) and had to ladder through some dreadful ICM mistakes to bust in 6th KQ < 77. Pain as there were some decentish players left but I think with better circumstances I could have gotten it done. Cashed $875 for 6th, first was $5000 so lol at the payout structure, prob wouldn't have played if I knew beforehand!

The carpet of sadness.

Decided to celebrate with a nightcap from Cookies, took 1/4 of this intending to go for a walk under the canopy then fall asleep but was out like a light within 20 mins. Tourneys are an adrenalin pump & dump and a half, don't know how people do this for weeks on end during WSOP!

Tomorrow I stay at a haunted hotel! OoOoOoO

Also, writing this now while I'm bored at work has really taught me two things-

1. I'm much more motivated to write about my trips when I'm craving another one as opposed to being there

2. I remember way too many insignificant hand histories months later. If only I had this memory for useful stuff

Well done on the cash!

20 minutes?!!? I once ordered room service, being super tired, and fell asleep before I could hang up the phone. Woke up several hours later and the receiver was lying on the floor.

Still waiting for the room service, though, right?

LOL, that's another weird part of the story. When I woke up, it was sitting on a room service cart in my room. I have no idea how it got there. Is it possible they knocked on the door, I let the person in, fell asleep right next to the phone where I was before, and forgot about it? Maybe. Almost anything is possible.

It keeps getting more bizarre because I called room service so I could pay for it. They had no record of payment or even my order. It was not on my room bill either.

This was several years ago and I'm still alive so it wasn't an episode of Twilight Zone.

DAY 5

The final night in Vegas for now. Checked out of Plaza and was immediately able to check in down the road at Hotel Apache.

Wasn't really sure what to expect but assumed being part of Binion's and right in the centre of Fremont St Experience would be convenient as long as the room was okay.

Turns out it was perfectly fine! The whole 'haunted hotel' gimmick is pretty funny, the decor and styling being from the 1950s is a good tie in to that. Everything was very clean though, room was comfortable. I have always endorsed Four Queens for their lack of resort fee, happy to add Hotel Apache to the list of endorsed hotels for the same reason.

$88 all in on a night where Plaza was $150 ex fees and everyone else more was a good deal.

Decided I'd invest some of my winnings into my Panini NFL card addiction, so got a H2 box at Game Day Sports Cards. Guys were really nice, box was listed at $185 but after chatting they did it cash for me for $160 and threw in a Donruss Christmas tin for free. Great service, will definitely give them my business going forward when I'm over there.

Unfortunately the box was a brick for the most part, got a /99 Tyreek Hill, a /75 Travis Etienne refractor and a Dorsey Levels signature card. Was still fun to open though, getting easy access to these cards is great over there (but dangerous).

Also got this cursed duo of cards. Eep.

Made my first In'n'Out journey of the trip, a necessity for Australians.

Spent the rest of the daytime hours shopping for my wife & dogs and just cruising around Vegas. Weather was beautiful and driving the Charger just made me feel really relaxed and happy.

Came back to the hotel around sundown and captured these. Fremont really is my spiritual home.

I wanted to tick off some more casinos that might disappear, so went to OYO to have Hooters for dinner. Food was disappointing, Hooters has always been good value in the past but the whole property feels like no one cares anymore so I should have expected it. Peak 'Murica.

Headed down to South Point for my last session of the trip. Got sat in a 1/2 waiting for a 2/3, took like 10 mins to get moved. New table was great, money splashing around everywhere but as was the story of the trip I couldn't get anything to get in the action with. Most bizarre 5 days of poker I've ever had, didn't get it in pre once, didn't get in more than 100bb and called once. I know it's tightened up a lot there but I was trying hard!

One more slice of Evel Pie & a walk around the Experience and I was ready to head off to Boise for the Mountain West Championship Game. Saw lots of LV locals on the flight as UNLV were playing, most were dressed lightly as it was 55 when we left. Boy were they in for a surprise shortly!

So yeah. Was pretty burnt out by the end to be honest, was lucky to have that deep tourney run to save the trip but bummed me out to not be able to just print money at 1/2 2/3 like I used to. Obviously a lot of this was card distribution and not actively game selecting, but I'd like to think I'm good enough to win in spite of that. Maybe I'm getting old.

I'll summarize the Boise and Phoenix football parts in another post when I get time. Anyway, thanks for reading and apologies again for the delay!

Great report. Thanks for sharing!

Welcome to my world. I've been living in it for a year and a half.

Alright, 3 weeks 'til we are back. Can't wait.

Have decided I'm confirming the 'hour at every room on the Strip' challenge.

Mandalay > MGM > Aria > Bellagio > Horseshoe > Venetian > Wynn > Resorts World or reverse (depending whether I think Mandalay has game availability late on a weekday)

Going to start 3pm Tuesday 22nd and aim to wrap up around 6am. 6 miles by foot according to Google Maps, going to have a beer at Brewdog and something to eat around centre strip along the way as well. Profits to charity. Can't wait.

That is an ambitious goal.

I’m here for it!

Yeah, that sounds like a lot. Thanks in advance for taking us along on that ride!

Sounds very interesting! I hope the waits aren't long. How long will you be there?

Charity at the Rhino? Blond Charity or redhead Charity?